Liberation of Zutphen

The Liberation of Zutphen (5-12 April 1945) occurred when Canadian forces from the 3rd Canadian Division were sent to capture the Dutch town of Zutphen from the German 361st Infantry Division. The Canadians won the hard-fought battle, and the Battle Honor "Zutphen" was awarded to four Canadian units for their participation in the battle.

The First Canadian Army was tasked with attacking the German Ijssel River defenses from the rear (the east), capturing Deventer and Zutphen, capturing Apeldoorn and the high ground between there and Arnhem, and bridging the Lower Rhine at Arnhem and thence to the northeast. The 3rd Canadian Division was sent to liberate Zutphen and Deventer, and the Germans showed every intention of holding the town. The 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade closed in on the southern and eastern approaches to Zutphen, facing the German 361st Infantry Division. The teen-aged youngsters defending the town fought fiercely, and they had to set up a bridge over old water defenses connecting the Ijssel so that armor from the 2nd Canadian Armored Brigade could assist the infantry in taking the Baronsbergen and Warnsveld suburbs. On 7 April, the 9th Brigade was withdrawn and replaced by the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade, and the brigade penetrated the factory area, taking the historic old town by midday. Some defenders fled down the Ijssel in rubber boats, and the 9th consequently established a bridgehead across the Schipbeek Canal five miles to the north of the Twente Canal. All of the Canadian units involved in the battle were awarded the Battle Honor "Zutphen".